


Going out

by Zixen



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Drowning, M/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 17:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30126030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zixen/pseuds/Zixen
Summary: Lucas traps Ethan in a giant maze for his own... purposes. I originally planned for way more chapters (and I may still add them), but I've decided to leave it here.
Relationships: Lucas Baker/Ethan Winters
Kudos: 1





	Going out

“Ethan, No!” Mia shouted, her arms crossed and her eyes brimming with tears. Her voice was firm and serious but she couldn’t control the pain and anger. “You can’t go back- I won’t let you!” I put my hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a knowing embrace.

“I know, I know, but I can’t just let him taunt us and fucking live after what he did! After what he did… to you!” My mind is taken back to all the horrible things I had to go through at the Baker estate. Every night I have nightmares about having to kill Mia… my own wife! I jump at every noise because of those fucking bombs; I can’t even hear a southern drawl without feeling a tightness in my chest. “Please Mia… try to understand!” I don’t know if it’s her previous career at Umbrella or if she’s just stronger than me, but It’s like nothing happened. She never wants to talk about it, she says we should move on and let the professionals handle it. She says that living our best life is all we can do, but I’m hardly living. I want to put everything behind me too, but I just can’t!  
“I do understand! Don’t you think I want him to suffer too? I never wanted you to get involved with this! I’m so sorry Ethan…” She pulls away and begins sobbing into her hands. I know she blames herself for everything that happened. The guilt eats at her every day even though I reassure her I wouldn’t have stopped looking til I found her. This is all their fault!

“It’s bigger than us, Mia! He said ‘the others don’t sass the same.’ How many more people will Lucas tourture if I don’t go over there!” I’m shaking with rage and near falling into a tear-filled breakdown. “Please, please Mia! I have to do this alone, I don’t know what he’ll do to you!” Mia throws herself at me. We embrace and share a passionate kiss.  
“Just come back alive…"

So… this is the place? I'd never thought I'd be back in Louisiana, and so soon too. It’s been two years, but Blue Umbrella couldn’t pinpoint where Lucas Baker was. Every time a team would show up they were left with an empty building or later found dismembered. It’s conspicuous for sure… an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. All around is grassy wetland for miles. There are no roads leading to the dilapidated wooden home. I had to hike forty minutes from the main road. (which is nothing but a winding mud road) It’s been raining for days, but this morning it’s only cold and humid. The house is tiny, I can easily imagine a serial killer dragging victims around in broad daylight without a soul knowing.

I hesitantly approach the abandoned house. I check for obvious traps before walking to the front door. For just a moment, my hand trembles above the door handle. I take a deep breath and open the door. The house is sparsely furnished and the second floor is lying in the middle of the room. The smallest morning rays are illuminating the whole living area from a large hole in the ceiling. The only indication of Lucas is a black spray-painted arrow on the ground. It reads, ‘this way’ with a crude smiley face. I’m already rolling my eyes. I follow the arrow forward until I reach a fireplace. Inside are the charred remains of some kind of animal. A small golden key; that looks like it unlocks something akin to a treasure box or diary, is looped around its neck. I take it and search around the living room. I find a few herbs, but nothing else. I check the kitchen and find an empty glass bottle with an X drawn on it. I take it and search as much as the second floor as I can. In the master bedroom, I see a modified walkie-talkie with a note that says ‘take me!’ I take it and turn it on, but there’s only static. I shove it into my pocket for the time being and continue to search the small property until I find an ornate jewelry box on top of a stack of books. I use the key and read a cryptic note.

“CloThesLIne took Stressed, Tiered, Underpaid, Puny, and Irritating Dumfuck Ethan.” I study the note, I get the last part, but what or who is Clothesline? And why are some words capitalized? No, it must be a code. Taking a closer look, I noticed some of the letters were capitalized, specifically at the beginning of the last seven words. Hmmmm… S T U P I D E, no Ethan. Huh. Well, that’s the last part solved, but what does the first part mean? C L T I? Somehow I doubt the answer is CLIT… but something still stands out to me. ‘C’ ‘L’ and ‘O’ look like they almost spell something. “The” clearly stands out as the capital ‘T’ is at the beginning. Now that I think about it, a multitude of words could fit in this short phase. And if the capital letters represent the beginning of words then the first word could be Cold, Cloth, Coot, Cent, or Center… I need more information. I searched the whole house again, but this time I found something I swore wasn’t there earlier. A football-sized box is lined with a rolling combination of letters. There are four rows and each row is ten letters long. I input “clit stupid Ethan, but nothing happens. Figured. I sit on the musty couch and wrack my brain for ideas. Maybe I was onto something earlier…

I make a list of potential words using the capitalized letters as a beginning letter. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there are four rows on the box and four capital letters. After compiling a complete list nothing stands out to me until… Ahhh. So it is an anagram! C= Closet, L= Look. T= The, and I= In! Clothesline Took, is an anagram and everything together is LOOK IN THE CLOSET STUPID ETHAN. What is this, kindergarten? I huff, before typing in the four-word phrase and the left side of the tube pops open. A VHS tape slides out, I put it in my bag before heading to the master bedroom closet. I checked this closet three times now, but when I enter this time, the door slams shut. I turn quickly, but I feel a bony figure grab me from behind. I struggle until I feel a prick in my arm. Very quickly, I become drowsy and a familiar chuckle is the last thing I hear before going completely dark.

I wake up with a start, covered in sweat, and with a brand new headache. I’m in an entirely new room. It looks like a metal bunker with piles of cellophane and thick plastic sheets. I shakily stand, propping myself against the wall. Whatever Lucas injected me with is gonna make me puke.

“Finally, Sleeping Beauty!” A familiar southern drawl crackles from my chest. I look down, shocked to see the walkie-talkie from earlier clipped to my chest. “I see ya got my invitation!” My temper flares when I remember the disgusting message I was left.

“Fuck you!” I shout out before staggering around the blank white hallways.

“Language! I bet you're wondering what all this is? Well, you're gonna love this, I call this the Ultimate test!” I roll my eyes. “Now, don’t be so ungrateful! I made this place just for you!” Lucas cackles maniacally. “I don’t wanna give too much away, but this puzzle is going to really knock your socks off! Tee hee!” I can hear him trying to hold in his laughter before the walkie-talkie abruptly silences.

After a quick inspection of the room, the layout consists of two hallways and a few locked doors. The first hallway is a rectangular loop with an ‘L’ shaped hallway in the lower-left corner. There are three locked doors, one at the end of the ‘L’, and two at either end of the rectangle. Whatever ‘key’ I need for any of these doors is well hidden because I’ve been pacing this small section of the hallway for over ten minutes without spotting as much as a clue. I fidget with my pockets; mostly out of boredom, and I’m baffled to feel something foreign. I pull the simple key from my pocket and groan, but that’s not all. I also pulled out a blank piece of paper and a sharpie. Damn.. he must have slipped me everything while I was out.

The ‘L’ door was the ticket. The hall opened up into a long brown hallway. Before going on, I write down a crude map of what I know so far. I’m still finishing up my map when I start moving forward; big mistake. A clicking sound makes me look up just in time to duck. I stash the map and roll forward, dodging the speeding arrow. I don’t have time to catch my breath as a torrent of arrows fly down the hall. I lie on the ground to avoid even the lowest flying arrows. Not wanting to take any chances, I crawl on my belly all the way down the long hall. Reaching the end, a loud pop is heard directly above me. I brace for impact, but the only fate that befalls me is a light sprinkling of… glitter. I look up to see a key and a message reading ‘congratulations’ sticking out of a small hole in the wall. Just to my left, there's a door at the end of a small hall. I crawl on my hands and knees towards the door and unlock it. I hurriedly scurry through the door. I jump when Lucas’s hollering laugh bursts through the radio.

“Ha ha ha ha! Oh boy! Oh… Ethan, you are a HOOT! You shoulda seen yourself floppin’ cross the hall like a fish outta water, ooouuu boy!” I warily stand, ignoring his taunts. It’s another beige hall, this time the gimmick is obvious. Huge blades hang from the narrow hall's ceiling. “Careful now-” the many blades smash into the ground at differing but alarming speeds. “This is where the cakewalk ends!” the radio cuts out halfway through another crazed crackle. Fuck this guy. When I find him… I’ll make sure he’ll never torture another person again!

The first blade doesn’t move too quickly and has a predictable pattern. I easily pass under that one and the next, faster blade. The third has a more advanced pattern, but I get through unscathed. The fourth and fish move very quickly and I only barely slip through. The loud blades and quick reaction time needed is pushing me more than I thought. I'm drenched with sweat and a bit shaky from adrenaline as I read the last blade. I shake my head. It’s moving like a jackhammer; chomping at the floor faster than my eyes can follow it.

“This is impossible!” I groan, more to myself. It’s not unusual for Lucas to make impossible ‘puzzles’, but this is ridiculous!

“No, no! Use ur head! The Ethan I know would know what to do.” I can't keep rolling my eyes like this, it’s starting to strain.  
I just sigh and think. There’s no way I’m rolling under that… but maybe I don’t have to. I time the blade’s movement. Before it hits the ground I grab the side of the blade and pull myself towards it. The force of the blade falling caused me to trip but I grip the top of the blade as hard as I can. With my body doubled over the blade, it forcefully lifts, filing me forward and towards the door. I land with a grunt, but I’m otherwise okay. Before I can even dust myself off, Lucas’s cheers feel the hall! “That’s the spirit! Woooooo!” Luckily, the door doesn’t require a key and I push it open.

My back and legs are a bit sore after being flung onto the concrete, and to my dismay, it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. The hall is a bonafide maze of tripwire bombs. They cross low and high; if even one went off the whole room would explode… great. I can’t make a single mistake! I psych myself up before attempting the maze. I duck and crawl carefully, slowly through the first part. I’m still shaking from before, and bending has the most annoying twinge of pain to it. I’m crawling simultaneously over and under a wire, while a diagonal wire is straight ahead when I slip. My eye is millimeters from the wire; I freeze and everything clenches. I move only my eyes downward to see my arms elbow-deep in whatever squishy shit the floor is suddenly made out of. Are you fucking kidding me! I steady myself before moving forward. I get my right foot deep into the foam and slip in between two crossing wires; my left foot stuck in limbo. I reach me over a lover wire, my body unmoving. With both feet in the foam, I can hardly stand still, let alone breathe. I can’t even hold my arms out to try and balance myself in this position. I’m caught between whether I should move my left leg or right, duck, or lean back. I want to duck, but there just isn’t enough room, and I’m no gymnast. I lean back just a touch, but the sight ground makes it nigh impossible to balance that way. With a wire between my legs, one at my back, my hips, and directly behind me I’ve got limited options. I can’t even crawl on my face like before, the squishy ground would make it like swimming in quicksand. I squat, shakily. Everything I do is becoming increasingly wobbly.

“Boo! Hee hee!” Lucas’s voice blasts over the intercom the moment I lift my foot. I nearly fall backward but manage to slam my foot into the squishy ground. I bottle my range and fear for now, and pull myself across with my foot in one swift motion, clearing the death patch.

“Fuck you, you fucking ingrate!” I shout, still wobbling on the squishy ground, now fully upright. There’s still more ahead. I don’t get a retort, but now that I know what I’m up against, I decided to crawl forward. My arms sink deeper than my legs, making it difficult to navigate. I hear a loud whistle cracking through the radio.

“Ethan! Are you tryna make me come down there?” His voice turns soft and first near the end. I growl but otherwise focus on my task.  
Luckily, the track ahead has far more high-reaching wires. It doesn’t ease up by much, and I nearly fall into the same trap as earlier. I just about pass myself past the last wires and fall onto the hard concrete. I just lay on the cold ground for a few moments, catching my breath. It’s at least ten minutes before I wearily open the door. Only… It’s locked. Panicked, I searched myself hoping I missed another key to no avail. I slowly turn around and am horrified to see a small key dangling from the ceiling in the middle of the toughest section of wires. That fucking prick let me swoop right by it. The rage I'd bottled up earlier uncorks like a shook champagne bottle.

“LUCAS!” I roar, my voice shaking with rage.

“Yaaassssss?” Lucas’s voice drawls, amused. I feel like I’m going to explode! I’m angry, but I’m not stupid... yet. It’s pointless to beef with Lucas; he’s insane and his only goal is to cause me as much suffering as possible. Yelling only satisfies his sick needs. “Forget somethin’, Ethan?” More than anything, I’m defeated and ashamed. After a long sigh, I retrace my steps and reach the key just as sweaty and shaking as I was earlier. I reach for the key and yank it down. Finally.  
After crossing the wire maze once more I unlock the door. What greets me on the other side is just as pleasant as the last ‘puzzle.’ Lucas must have been planning this for a while. It’s not a short process to make and fill a pool THIS size. The water is dark and murky so I have no idea how deep it is but it’s as long as a standard gym pool. The radio cracks to life.

“You may need a little help with this-” Lucas speaks in his usual amused tone. “In this pool, there’s a key. It’s your job to find it and not drown, got that?”  
Very informative, thank you! The only thing that confuses me is where the key goes.

There’s nothing on the other side of the pool, not even a platform. I guess that’s underwater too. I tentatively slide into the murky green water. Eww. It’s truly slimy and smells like a bog but I take a deep breath, then dive in, trying to reach the bottom as quickly as possible. I touch what feels like glass before swimming back up. I take a few deep breaths before diving again, the glass that I felt is some kind of container, big enough for me to fit through. I pull myself into the box, but my feet never touch the end of the hall. I pop up to breathe before swimming down the hall until I reach the end of the hall. I grab onto something, that feels like a key and yank it off its rope. I feel and hear the low moan and thunk of a heavy door opening. I feel the water rushing past me to fill the space and I’m sucked in as well. I clatter to the wet floor at least ten feet below.  
Water is still gushing out of the hole I’ve been sucked down, but without a flashlight, I can’t see anything. I wade around in the quickly feeling room, staring at the walls. I must have traveled around all four walls twice before I give up and venture to the middle of the room. By now the water is at my knees and still rising. I start feeling around on the floor; dunking my head underwater just to reach the ground. Aha! I feel a square-shaped panel with a bar handle. I tug with all my might but the weight of the water is tugging it down. Water is past my waist and I can’t pull the door open at all without diving under, but it’s no use! Fear is starting to coil around my gut… Lucas is no stranger to unbeatable games. I double, triple-check the darkened room. Isn’t there anything I can use? I feel like I’m a caged animal! I’m in pain, I’m panicking, I’m cold, and I can’t see a damn thing! Water is up to my shoulders! I- I need to calm down! I need to calm down. I breathe in deeply. There’s no way I can open that door on the floor now… my only hope is to find where I came in… but I need the water to rise first.

When the water’s high enough to start swimming I paddle to where the water is coming through but the water is still gushing through, way over my head. I wait nearby until my fingertips can grip the ledge. Thank God. I wait until the water rises enough for me to firmly grip the ledge. I pull myself up, and through the gushing water and my hand roaches something that makes my blood run cold. No! I run my hands over the grate in disbelief. No…

“Lucas…” I grab my radio, my voice is small and distant. No one picks up. “What’s your endgame? Huh? You’re just going to drown me? That’s it?” My voice is shaking. I can’t keep it together. The water is quickly rising past the grate; I have to swim out the small ledge. “Lucas!” I’m screaming. “ You fucking bastard! Kill me! Kill me if you want, but leave Mia alone!” Suddenly Lucas’s voice comes over the radio; barely audible over the splashing water.

“This is between you and me…” Even with the splashing, I can hear his voice is stained, almost distracted. “Oh-” I can touch the ceiling with my fingertips

“ So you’re not killing me to hurt Mia? She’s just collateral?” I can hear Lucas growl between clenched teeth. “She’s the one who brought Evie to your house! Mia turned your family into monsters, you into-”

“Fuck Ethan, STOP!” I can hear him huff in frustration… but he’s panting too. “Stop talking about her! I don’t give a shit about that bitch! Hell, her showing up is the best thing that ever happened to me! I ain't-” He huffs. “Ever-” A moan escapes. “Goin-” His breaths come in fast and heavy. “Back!” Theirs less than two feet between me and the ceiling. Disgusting. I hadn’t imagined how he enjoyed my suffering. I was hoping it was more of a gleeful feeling of terror, like riding a rollercoaster or the rush a kleptomaniac gets out of stealing. Instead, I’m going to die while this wacko jerks off to my drowning breaths. Well… I won’t give him that satisfaction. The water is only a few minutes from engulfing my head, but I might just drown from exhaustion before then. “Fuck, Ethan!” It’s slipped my mind that the two-way radio has been moaning away this entire time. “C’mon! You ain't angry with me? Ya can’t stop me from cuttin’ up your pretty little wife if you’re dead!” I take a deep breath, water is splashing up my nose… it won’t be long now. “You really think I won’t?” His voice is desperate, angry. It’s the last thing I hear before I can’t hold my breath anymore. Everything burns.


End file.
